Things Fall Apart Post Colonial Analysis of Christianity and Igbo Tradition
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: An Analysis of Christianity and Igbo Tradition The Mbaino tribe in Things Fall Apart practice many traditions that the Western culture would deem superstitious. The Western religion allows for the Christian ideals to prove many of the native traditions superfluous when infiltrating the native’s land during colonization. This disassembling of traditions is introduced by Christianity’s unshakeable stance that native deities have no power because they are mythical. However, the new practices and dismantling of tradition the missionaries prove can never be revoked or forgotten from the native lands.
The Christians first must defy a strong belief held amongst each tribe and that is the beliefs about the Evil Forest. Because the tribe would never try to put the missionaries in a position where they could cultivate and grow stronger, the elders give them a piece of land that would surely take care of the nuisance of the conflicting religion illustrating the esteem the Evil Forest has among the tribe. Achebe writes,
“ they did not really want them in their clan, and so they made them that offer which nobody in his right senses would accept. ‘They want a piece of land…said Uchendu…”we shall give them a piece of land.’ He paused, and there was a murmur of surprise and disagreement. ‘Let us give them a portion of the Evil Forest, they boast about victory over death. Let us give them a real battlefield…” (149).
However, the missionaries eliminate the power of the forest by inhabiting it. The missionaries were undaunted by the land and the natives could not ignore the missionaries prevalent attitudes, “and then it became known that the white man’s fetish had unbelievable power… Not long after, he won his first three converts” (149). Nevertheless, the power of the forest was not completely revoked until the final day the villagers believed the gods allotted for evil. Achebe explains, “in such cases they set their limit at seven market weeks, or
The Christians first must defy a strong belief held amongst each tribe and that is the beliefs about the Evil Forest. Because the tribe would never try to put the missionaries in a position where they could cultivate and grow stronger, the elders give them a piece of land that would surely take care of the nuisance of the conflicting religion illustrating the esteem the Evil Forest has among the tribe. Achebe writes,
“ they did not really want them in their clan, and so they made them that offer which nobody in his right senses would accept. ‘They want a piece of land…said Uchendu…”we shall give them a piece of land.’ He paused, and there was a murmur of surprise and disagreement. ‘Let us give them a portion of the Evil Forest, they boast about victory over death. Let us give them a real battlefield…” (149).
However, the missionaries eliminate the power of the forest by inhabiting it. The missionaries were undaunted by the land and the natives could not ignore the missionaries prevalent attitudes, “and then it became known that the white man’s fetish had unbelievable power… Not long after, he won his first three converts” (149). Nevertheless, the power of the forest was not completely revoked until the final day the villagers believed the gods allotted for evil. Achebe explains, “in such cases they set their limit at seven market weeks, or
Cited: Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print. Baldridge, William. Reclaiming Our Histories. 1996. The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. By Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 1995. 528-30. Print. Bastian, Misty. "The Demon Superstition": Abominable Twins and Mission Culture in Onitsha History." Ethnology Special Issue: Reviewing Twinship in Africa 40.1 (2001): 13-27. JSTOR. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. Bastian, Misty L. "Young Converts: Christian Missions, Gender and Youth in Onitsha, Nigeria 1880-1929." Anthropological Quarterly Youth and the Social Imagination in Africa, Part 1 73.3 (2000): 145-58. JSTOR. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. Hoegberg, David. “Principle and Practice: The Logic of Cultural Violence in Achebe 's "Things Fall Apart".” College Literature 26.1 (1999): 69-79. JSTOR. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. MacKenzie, Clayton G. "The Metamorphosis of Piety in Chinua Achebe 's "Things Fall Apart"" Research in African Literatures 27.2 (1996): 128-38. JSTOR. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. McDowell, Robert. "Of What Is Past, or Passing, or to Come." Contemporary Literary Criticism Select 2.1 (1971): 9-13. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 Nov. 2012. Rhoads, Diana Akers. "Culture in Chinua Achebe 's Things Fall Apart." African Studies Review 36.2 (1993): 61-72. JSTOR. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.